Honest John's Highly Approved Traders – February 2009
“Now, more than ever, motorists are trying to find people they can trust for their motoring needs, who will deliver good deals and decent service for a sensible price. That is why I have introduced my
Highly Approved Trader (HAT) standard – to give motorists an easy means of finding the organisations that I think can be trusted.”
Honest John
Motorpoint UK are an independent supplier of new and nearly new cars from branches in Burnley, Derby, Peterborough, Glasgow and Newport South Wales.
Honest John says:
“I've known David Shelton and Gary Warren, the directors from Motorpoint, from the far off days 18 years ago when we would stand together,
sometimes bidding against each other, at 500 car ex-rental Ford auctions.
They have always had a simple, straightforward philosophy of buying their stock as cheaply as possible, taking a small profit,
and passing on a big saving to their customers. The same applies whether the cars are nearly new,
independent imports or bulk-bought from manufacturers (depending on prevailing market and currency conditions).
Motorpoint helped break “rip-off Britain” and turn the country from the most expensive in Europe in which to buy a car into the cheapest.”
www.motorpoint.co.uk
Car Giant, based in White City, is Europe's largest car supermarket offering customers unrivalled choice with up to 6,000 quality used cars at bargain prices.
Honest John says:
“I have known CarGiant for 18 years, from the days when it was The Great Trade Centre piling cars high and selling them cheap from
Hythe Road and a big blue building on the A40 (demolished for a road improvement that never happened). What CarGiant does, others follow,
both in the way it buys cars and in its buying tactics. But what some others don’t do is abide strictly by the terms of the Sale and Supply of
Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. For a business that sells around 10,000 used cars a month it’s remarkable that I hardly ever receive a complaint.
I have lots telling me how CarGiant fixed a car, or paid to have it fixed when it went wrong. None that they messed the customer around.”
www.cargiant.co.uk
Warranty Direct are the industry's leading provider of direct consumer warranties specialising in new car, used car and extended warranty.
Honest John says:
“Aftermarket Warranties, or ‘Mechanical Breakdown Insurance’ as it is correctly termed,
used to be a dirty business that seemed to most people to take the money and run.
Happy to sell you a warranty, but reluctant to pay for your car to be fixed.
Then along came Duncan McClure Fisher who cleaned the business up.
It wasn’t rocket science. It was simple, straightforward,
proper underwriting of risks and telling the customers what they got or didn’t get in simple black and white.
Inevitably there are still a few misunderstandings. But the last one was dealt with in 10 minutes flat from me receiving the e-mail to the mistake being rectified.”
www.warrantydirect.co.uk
British Car Auctions have over twenty auction centers nationwide and are Europe's largest vehicle remarketing company. BCA make finding and buying quality used vehicles easy for the consumer from a variety of vendors including: dealer part exchange, fleet, lease and ex rental.
Honest John says:
“I have frozen or sweated in more BCA auction halls than I care to remember, and watched the business change.
First there was Warren Street, then there was BCA (including its days as ADT) and CMA (that became Mannheim).
But from the management buyout onwards, BCA has raised its standards, gained huge strength in Europe and become a massive remarketing organisation rather than simply an auction house.
Now, most fleets dispose at auction and the public and traders bid against each other in the halls and over the Internet,
and between them and the vendors they set the real ‘trade prices’ at which cars are sold.
BCA’s ‘Sure Sell’ is an excellent means for private owners to sell their cars for a fair price with the minimum fuss and risk.”
www.british-car-auctions.co.uk
Drive the Deal are a new car broker who supply brand new UK cars to the customer from the cheapest franchised dealers.
Honest John says:
“Drivethedeal is run by one of the last few true gents left in the motor trade: Richard Sanders. His business is solely putting his customers into genuine deals with UK main dealers at the best discounts available. Whereas some brokers avail themselves of fleet discounts by assigning the cars they sell to customers to fleets, and hanging onto the registration documents, drivethedeal offers only genuine UK supplier sales with immediate transfer of registered keepership so there is never any doubt.”
www.drivethedeal.com
How do we make our selection?
As well as spending time every week on the auction floor, Honest John receives direct feedback by e-mail from more than 100 Honestjohn site visitors and Telegraph readers every day. This feedback includes thoughts about deals, dealers, service standards, warranties and insurance services as well as topical issues such as taxation and legislation.
In addition to this we run regular surveys on www.honestjohn.co.uk to gauge consumer reaction to products and services as well as closely monitoring user generated content within the backroom motoring forum of www.honestjohn.co.uk.
Based on the constant flow of information Honest John receives, the selection is made based on a series of customer service criteria:
- Reliable, high quality service
- Excellent value for money
- Higher than 97% ratio of good feedback to Honest John directly
- Demonstrate an excellent and transparent mechanism for handling customer complaints
Terms & Conditions
The HAT standard clearly recognises ongoing customer service records based on feedback directly received from Honest John readers, emailers, backroomers and results from surveys and is current at the date each HAT standard is awarded.
Honest John reserves the right to withdraw the award at his discretion should he have reason to believe that standards have fallen. Honest John's decision is final.
Honestjohn.co.uk Ltd can not be held accountable for the actions of a third party including those organisations that receive Honest John's HAT Standard.
Customers should check www.honestjohn.co.uk/hatstandard for the current status of each recipient of the HAT, any customer feedback on the companies receiving the awards or any other organisation can be sent via the website www.honestjohn.co.uk or directly to Honest John at letters@honestjohn.co.uk
For further information see the website or contact:
Sarah Thomas Publisher : sarah@honestjohn.co.uk.
